Hobbs DNA saga fuels debate on taking DNA samples

August 03, 2010

When a man arrested earlier this year in Virginia on robbery and abduction charges was linked by DNA to the horrific slayings of two young girls in Zion, it raised the possibility of exoneration for the original suspect, who has been behind bars for five years.

But the crucial connection might not yet have been made if the man jailed in Virginia had been picked up on the same charges in Illinois.

Unlike Virginia, Illinois has no law mandating DNA collection upon arrest. DNA samples are gathered from felons only after conviction. Supporters of post-arrest testing are now pointing to the developments in the Zion case as proof of the merit of testing a felony suspect after an arrest.

State's Attorney Michael Waller declined to provide specifics. Prosecutors previously have said only that they are continuing to investigate the case in light of the new evidence, which a source close to the inquiry said links a former Marine now in custody in Virginia to the killings.

Hobbs has told family members that he believes he will be released from jail. His mother, JoAnn Hobbs, of Wichita Falls, Texas, said her son's public defender told her that Lake County officials will escort her son to Texas, if he is released.

"After over five years I might get him back but he will never be the same," JoAnn Hobbs wrote in a statement e-mailed Tuesday to the Tribune.

For now, Jerry Hobbs, 39, remains charged with the double murder. He has been in custody since shortly after he called police in May 2005 to tell them he had found the bodies of his daughter, Laura, 8, and her friend Krystal Tobias, 9, in a Zion park.

Two decades after the advent of DNA's use in the justice system, lawmakers are poised to decide whose genetic information belongs in the government's files. The answer will influence the future of criminal prosecution and personal privacy, experts say.

Civil liberties advocates and some legislators worry about a "Big Brother" government that collects genetic information from citizens before they are even charged with crimes.